Editor's note:¬†We're listening to you. Every day, we spot thought-provoking comments from readers. What follows is a look at some of the most talked-about stories of the day.

Rep. Todd Akin, a Republican Senate candidate from Missouri, caused a firestorm of controversy¬†because of his¬†remarks about "legitimate rape" and opposing abortion in rape cases. Akin has since apologized, but readers of all political persuasions seemed mostly unified in opposition to Akin's remarks; they tended to differ much more when talking about what those words actually mean politically.

Mark Ivy, who describes himself as an independent who plans to vote for Mitt Romney, said he believes Akin should bow out of his senatorial race.

"We need people who can judge what is fact from fiction, no matter one's personal ideology," he said via e-mail. "We need people who can tell that if it is raining you take an umbrella when you go out."

k3vsdad: "While many are seeing this as a discussion on abortion, to me it is rather a question of judgment and common sense. The congressman, who is standing his ground and vowing to stay in the race, is to me a failure on two very important concerns that voters in the Show Me State should be focusing.
"Show me good judgment – Akin in his remarks fails on this.
"Show me common sense – Akin fails on this as well."

CKThompson:¬†"There is no defending his statement in this case ... it was completely absurd. But to eliminate him as a viable candidate because of an absurd statement is, in itself, absurd. As I said on another iReport, if we eliminated every politician who said something stupid during a campaign, every capitol and statehouse would be empty."

But then we found Ivy becoming the commenter on another video commentary iReport from Egberto Willies¬†of Kingwood, Texas. Willies said he believes many evangelicals are "comfortable with"¬†Akin's views, and added that he also sees a "war against women" welling up in portions of the Republican Party.

"Akin's comments were backward, offensive, and showed a complete disregard for women," Willies said. That got a response from several commenters, including Ivy. FULL POST

The CNN Daily Mash-up is a roundup of some of the most interesting, surprising, curious, poignant or significant items to appear on CNN.com in the past 24 hours. We top it with a collection of the day's most striking photographs from around the world.

Welcome to the club

Augusta National Golf Club has admitted its first female members, the private club announced Monday. The decision to admit former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and business executive Darla Moore ends a longstanding policy excluding women as members of the Georgia club, which hosts the prestigious Masters golf tournament every spring.

Augusta National Golf Club Chairman Billy Payne

These accomplished women share our passion for the game of golf and both are well-known and respected by our membership.

Women's rights activist Martha Burk

They have chosen two groundbreaking women, two very prominent women, who are clearly equal in stature to the other members who are, of course, all male. I think it would have been a mistake to choose a lower-profile woman and basically make that statement that, yes, we're letting women in but they're not really going to be equal with the men.

Back off, Brits!

The USS Constitution, the frigate that fought off a British warship 200 years ago in the War of 1812, is still in fighting trim.

Loud and clear

On a slightly overcast day at Liberty State Park during New York City's Air Force Week, CNN iReporter John Dunstan captured this photo of the Air Force squadron the Thunderbirds performing a flyover. "It was such a great scene with the flags, the Statue of Liberty and the jet formation," he says. "I was pretty pleased to get this shot." We're pleased too.

Comedian Phyllis Diller, known for her self-deprecating humor, died "peacefully in her sleep" at her Los Angeles home Monday morning, her manager told CNN. Diller was 95.

"Her son, Perry, found her with a smile on her face," Milt Suchin said.

Diller , who paved the way for female comedians, began her legendary stand-up comedy career at the age of 37.

"We lost a comedy legend today," comedian Ellen DeGeneres tweeted. "Phyllis¬†Diller¬†was the queen of the one-liners. She was a pioneer."

Diller's career as a stand-up comic skyrocketed in the 1960s, partly because of her many appearances with Bob Hope on his television specials and USO tours. Diller remained good friends with Hope until his death.

"She was a true pioneer," said talent agent Fred Wostbrock. "She was the first lady of stand-up comedy. She paved the way for everybody. She paved the way for Joan Rivers, Chelsea Handler, Roseanne Barr, Ellen Degeneres, and all the women stand-up comics. She was the first and the best."

Comedian Whoopi Goldberg tweeted that she was said the world lost a funny, classy and smart woman like Diller.

"A true original has died," Goldberg tweeted, adding that there was nobody who looked or sounded like her.

Augusta's membership, which includes titans of industry and finance, has been male-only since its opening in 1932. The policy, which had become a lightning rod issue, had been upheld as recent as ¬†April when¬†Billy Payne, chairman of Augusta National Golf Club and the Masters Tournament, said the issue was a private matter.

Monday's announcement comes as a stark about-face in the club's policy.

"This is a joyous occasion as we enthusiastically welcome Secretary Condoleezza Rice and Darla Moore as members of Augusta National Golf Club," Billy Payne, chairman of Augusta National Golf Club and the Masters Tournament, said in a statement.¬†"We are fortunate to consider many qualified candidates for membership at Augusta National. Consideration with regard to any candidate is deliberate, held in strict confidence and always takes place over an extended period of time. The process for Condoleezza and Darla was no different."

Rice served under President George W. Bush as the first female national security adviser and the first African-American woman to hold the post of secretary of state. She also served on President George H.W. Bush's National Security Council staff and was a special assistant to the director of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in 1986.

"I have long admired the important role Augusta National has played in the traditions¬†and¬†history of golf," Rice said in a statement. "I also have an immense respect for the Masters tournament and its commitment to grow the game of golf, particularly with youth, here in the United States and throughout the world."

Moore is the vice president of Rainwater Inc., the investment firm founded by her husband, Richard Rainwater. Fortune magazine once named her among the top 50 women in business, and the University of South Carolina's business school is named in her honor.

"I am honored to have accepted an invitation to join Augusta National Golf Club.¬†Augusta National has always captured my imagination, and is one of the most¬†magically beautiful places anywhere in the world, as everyone gets to see during¬†the Masters each April," Moore said in a statement. "I am fortunate to have many friends who are members at¬†Augusta National, so to be asked to join them as a member represents a very happy¬†and important occasion in my life. Above all, Augusta National and the Masters ¬†Tournament have always stood for excellence, and that is what is so important to¬†me. I am extremely grateful for this privilege."

Payne noted the significance of admitting the first women to the club.

"These accomplished women share our passion for the game of golf and both are well known and respected by our membership. It will be a proud moment when we present Condoleezza and Darla their Green Jackets when the Club opens this fall," he said. "This is a significant and positive time in our Club‚Äôs history and, on behalf of our membership, I wanted to take this opportunity to welcome them and all of our new members into the Augusta National family."

Could the solution to increasing suicide and depression rates among members of the U.S. military lie in a nasal spray? The Army hopes so.

In the midst of a crisis that saw its highest rate of suicide in July, the Army has greenlighted a grant for Dr. Michael Kubek, an Indiana University of Medicine professor, to dig deeper into whether a nasal spray could be a safe and effective way to administer a specific antidepressive neurochemical to the brain and help calm suicidal thoughts.

The Army counted 38 confirmed or suspected suicides in July,¬†a tally that took into account both active- and non-active-duty members of the Army National Guard or Reserve. Three of those active-duty soldiers were deployed at the time of their deaths. Before July, the highest monthly level suicide rate for soldiers was 33 in June 2010 and July 2011, according to statistics released by the Army.

Kubek helped discover thyrotropin-releasing hormone, or TRH, which is known to have antisuicidal and antidepression effects. The problem is that the naturally occurring chemical cannot easily cross the ‚Äúblood-brain barrier.‚ÄĚ The barrier is meant to protect the nervous system by keeping out any substances in the blood that could injure the brain, including hormones and neurotransmitters. But it also makes it extremely difficult to get TRH to the brain, rendering normal methods of delivering the chemical, through pills or injection, largely unhelpful.

The military is hoping Kubek, an associate professor of anatomy and cell biology and of neurobiology, can use a three-year grant to work with other researchers to use a nasal spray to get TRH safely into the brain and calm soldiers' thoughts.

Kubek's research was spotted by Navy physician Capt. Neal Naito several years ago, according to a news release from Indiana University. Naito, who had been the director of public health for the Navy but is now retired, reached out to Kubek to see whether his research might be applied to active military members and veterans.

The Army has confirmed 120 suicides for both active- and non-active-duty soldiers in 2012, with 67 other deaths suspected as suicides but still under investigation. Twenty-five of those were attributed to soldiers who did not have any previous deployments. The Army reported 242 suicides in 2009, 305 in 2010 and 283 in 2011.

‚ÄúThese deaths are troubling and tragic,‚ÄĚ Kubek said in a statement. ‚ÄúToday‚Äôs commonly used anti-depressants can take weeks to have an effect and carry a black box warning label for suicidal ideation in young adults. That is why we hope to develop a quick-acting, easy-to-use, non-invasive system that delivers a compound that‚Äôs been shown to reduce suicidal thoughts.‚ÄĚ

A Chinese court on Monday suspended the death sentence of Gu Kailai, the wife of a disgraced Communist Party leader, after finding her guilty of murder in the death of a British businessman, a family source said.

Gu's death sentence is likely be commuted to a life sentence, if she doesn't commit any crimes during a two-year reprieve, as is customary in the Chinese legal system. Her sentence could be even further reduced for good behavior.

She was jailed immediately following the verdict.

Gu and a former household aide went on trial August 9 on charges of poisoning 41-year-old Neil Heywood.

Near the end of that day's court proceedings, she said according to state-run news agency Xinhua that she "accepted all the facts written in the indictment" - including poisoning the Brit at a time when she thought her son's life was in danger.

British director Tony Scott, best known for the films "Top Gun" and "Beverly Hills Cop II," died from injuries sustained Sunday when he jumped from the Vincent Thomas Bridge in San Pedro, an official with the Los Angeles County Corner's Office told CNN.

The death of the 68-year-old Scott is being treated as a suicide, said Lt. Joe Bale of the coroner's office.

"There's nothing to indicate it is anything else at this time," he said.

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